Sunderland fight to keep few assets

CRISIS-TORN club Sunderland are struggling to hold on to the handful of players manager Chris Coleman wants to keep following their relegation into League One.

The vast majority of Coleman’s flop squad will be gone this summer.

Several, including veteran John O’Shea, are out of contract, seven loanees are due to return to their parent clubs, while those picking up wages in excess of £30,000 a week need to be sold.

That will leave a group of youngsters charged with the responsibility of launching a promotion push out of League One, with Coleman resigned to having little cash to spend unless absentee owner Ellis Short sells up.

Coleman wants to build a squad around former Manchester United youngster Paddy McNair, local lad George Honeyman, Swedish teenager Joel Asoro and Duncan Watmore.

But Sheffield Wednesday have already enquired about Honeyman, Northern Ireland international McNair is wanted by at least two Premier League clubs, while Asoro’s agent is touting his client around Europe. Watmore has been sidelined for most of the season following his second cruciate ligament injury in two years but Sunderland will struggle to hold on to him too if he can prove his fitness.

Short is having to put in over £2million every month just to prevent the debt-ridden Black Cats going bankrupt but has otherwise washed his hands of the club he bought more than a decade ago. Coleman accepts players such as Lee Cattermole and Lamine Kone must go along with the non-playing Jack Rodwell, whose £70,000-a-week wages will reduce to £44,000.

Kone was the subject of an £18million bid from Everton two years ago but, like all those involved in back-toback relegations, his value has collapsed and the Sunderland boss knows the club are in no position to hold out for big transfer fees.